If enacted into law, SB 170 would allow big business (including developers) to run roughshod over local communities by allowing businesses to file litigation if an ordinance or ballot measure results in a 15% or more loss of profit, with local taxpayers on the hook for damages. They’ve coupled this bill with SB 280 which would require local governments to prepare costly business impact statements on the potential costs of new regulations or ordinances and would order an automatic court-ordered freeze if a lawsuit alleges they violate existing preemptions in law. There’s no other way to say this so let’s be direct: these measures could bankrupt local governments and allow unfettered corporate control through the threat of litigation.
This bill failed last year: let’s make sure it fails again this year!
Email the following committee members and tell them to oppose SB 170